Of Masks and Love Songs
by Aeneid
Summary: This was the only time he knew where he could have the courage to ask her out on a dance. That is, if he could find her in the ballroom. Prompt: "meeting at a masquerade ball au". Side fic to 'Of Detentions and Mixed Signals'.


Hello! This is actually one of the prompt fics I've written on Tumblr, but I've decided to post this separately, as this is a side fic for 'Of Detentions and Mixed Signals'.

I have mentioned on Chapter 3 of the aforementioned fanfic that Soyo would be having a small birthday party where she would be inviting Kagura, but sometimes, the minor scene you've planned can't seem to fit the plot line of the current pacing of the storyline anymore. In the end, I decided to write a companion fic to it.

I'll be referencing this side fic in the upcoming chapters, as this is a bit of a turning point in a certain pairing's relationship.

Mght be cheesy, even OOC, and might not fit the standard of modern-day Japan, as masquerade balls here aren't really done unless it's Halloween or a fancy party for people who can afford it. But what the hey, it's always possible when you have money and when you're a member of the prestigious Tokugawa clan. :)

So anyway, the theme of this fic is 'meeting at a masquerade ball au', which will be applied for the main pair. Hopefully, this is tolerable.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. Sorachi Hideaki does.

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**_Of Masks and Love Songs_**

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Prompt: "meeting at a masquerade ball au"

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Companion fic to 'Of Detentions and Mixed Signals'

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With the most wealthy girl in their school sponsoring the whole event (a belated birthday celebration sponsored by her parents), the school did not need to ask the students to pay for their share, as everything had been taken care of. All everyone needed was a dress or a suit, as the theme happened to be a masquerade ball.

She managed to get a ball gown on time, as she practically scoured the fashionable places in Tokyo for a rather decent dress that she knew could pass up for a ball gown. It was light blue, with the sleeves from the elbows to the wrist flaring, while her skirt was billowing. She opted for low heels, as she was the clumsy type, but somehow, she had managed to pull it off this far without tripping.

Sakata Kagura was ready for her school's masquerade ball.

* * *

Okita Sougo, on the other hand, was nervous.

He opted for a suit and a cravat, a supposedly hard thing to pull off because it was hard to match the two, but he somehow did, as Mitsuba kept commenting on how handsome he looked, much to his embarrassment.

As to why he was nervous… well, this was the only time he knew where he could have the courage to ask Sakata out on a dance.

That is, if he could find her in the ballroom.

There was a code of secrecy though, and he couldn't directly call her by her name, even if he spotted her. Besides, the masks would be off by midnight, where everyone would be revealing themselves.

All he could do now was hope that she wouldn't outright be disgusted by him.

With a mask covering half of his face, he entered the hotel, heading off to the ballroom.

He was ready.

* * *

Kagura knew.

She knew immediately who it was who entered the ballroom, as everyone's eyes suddenly focused on _him_ as he went in, wearing a black suit, opting for a cravat instead of a tie, and a silver eyemask covering his face. As much as she wanted to make fun of him for looking like a typical salaryman, he _did not_ look like one.

Far from it.

To her annoyance, she had to admit, he was very… _dashing_.

She somehow feared her sanity.

What was she thinking?! Okita Sougo, _handsome_?!

Granted that he was that, in all fairness and honesty, but still…! The day she would think of him handsome had alarmed her.

Just because she and the guy were kind of okay with one another didn't mean her mind had to have thoughts of Okita Sougo in a good light.

Hell no.

Even with her cast taken off, she was very wary of him.

Who knew what he was planning?!

So lost was she in her thoughts that she nearly jumped when a voice asked, "May I have this dance, my lady?"

She waited for her skin to crawl.

It did not, and it pissed her off.

To her mortification, she found her face turning rather warm, despite the freezing cold air from the airconditioning units.

The fact that everyone's eyes were on both of them had made her want to run for her out of the hotel and back to her home. To her utter surprise, she found herself curtsying and saying, "Of course."

Kagura was slowly becoming scared at the turn of events.

What was happening to her?!

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He hoped his hand was not getting all sweaty.

Slowly, he led her arm to the dance floor where everyone else was dancing, and just his luck, the music turned from techno to a slow dance, the one that suddenly had the couples closing in on one another, with the girls putting their hands on their partners' shoulders while the partners had their hands on the girls' waists.

He wanted to back out.

He really did.

But this was his chance, and he did not want to blow it.

_Don't screw this up._

Sougo led her to the side of the dance floor, away from the attention, and tentatively placed his hands on her waist. She, in turn, placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyes away from his.

"… My lady, are you alright?"

Immediately, she looked up. "Y-yes, of course… sir. I… I just don't know how to dance to this… kind of… dance."

He turned to look at the couples, who were now standing so close with one another, they were practically hugging. "… I think we just need to sway side to side…"

"I… see. Then I guess… we can do that."

* * *

This was very awkward.

The music that was playing was a rather popular love song, an English song at that, and despite Kagura's not so good English ability, she knew the words to the song were cheesy.

… So cheesy that everyone else except them were so close with one another that they were hugging, with some of the girls placing their heads on their partners' shoulder.

The DJ was probably cackling in his booth right now; of all the times he had asked her, it just had to play the love song.

The first one ended, and she hoped that it would be house music.

It ended up playing yet another cheesy English song, and by the minute, it was getting very, _very awkward_.

She did not know what to do, other than sway along with the music, her body still a few inches apart from Okita's.

This song was supposed to be danced with someone's significant other, not with their… rival.

He must have sensed her distress, as he let her go, and oddly, she felt a sense of loss.

"… Thank you for the dance." he bowed his head slightly, and just when he was about to turn around, Kagura found herself grabbing his arm before she could stop herself.

"Don't go."

_What the hell, Kagura._

He turned to look at her. "I-I'm sorry?" he could have sworn she said 'don't go', but he wanted to make sure he heard it right.

"… We might as well finish this song." she muttered.

"As you wish." at his reply, she felt her face flame and without thinking, she placed her hands around his neck, her hands just below his nape, her chin over his shoulder.

There was no way in hell she would allow him to see her get all embarrassed just because of those three little words that he uttered.

Okita, on the other hand, froze when she proceeded to wrap her arms around his neck, inching closer to him. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her waist. "… Are you… alright with this?"

"… It's fine." she muttered back.

Swallowing, he nodded. "Okay then."

He was relieved that he did not screw this up big time… and heck, even Sakata reciprocated… somewhat, and it was the very thing that surprised him the most. He was expecting her to reject his offer for a dance, but she had let him lead her to the dance floor, danced one slow song… and then this.

He hoped that even after this, she would still be civil towards him.

She had no idea how happy he was right now, and it took all of his willpower not to hug her closer to him.

For now, this was fine.

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I hope you enjoyed it!

One last thing: September 1 to September 7 will be OkiKagu Week on Tumblr. As much as I want to have a month-long celebration for it, it is not possible for this year. ^^;; This week, from August 25 until August 31, will be preparation week for the event. I hope the fanfiction writers and the fan artists can join us. :)

The URL is okikaguweekDOTtumblr. I'll be updating the layout and the rules real soon, so stay tuned!

Thank you for reading! Till next time!


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